Do MCTs Raise Cholesterol?

Biomedical Fast Takes

A small study published a few months ago in theAmerican Journal of Clinical Nutritioncautions that MCTs (medium-chain triglycerides) can raise total cholesterol as much as palm oil and nearly 50% more than high oleic sunflower oil, a less saturated oil.1The press release, issued by the university at which the study was conducted, championed the findings, which contradict the long-held belief that MCTs have a neutral effect on low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or “bad” cholesterol levels.

What’s wrong with this study? First, more than 100 other studies in the scientific literature have found thatsupplementaluse of MCTs can provide a wide range of health benefits including:

increased HDL (the “good” cholesterol) without increasing LDL

improved mitochondrial function

enhanced thermogenesis

enhanced antibacterial activity in the GI tract

stabilized brain waves

Moreover, these studies have found that MCTs provide rapid energy, yet have no significant effect on insulin production. Thus, MCTs can help eliminate the condition known as “false fatigue” which often occurs after eating simple sugars. MCTs can also reduce the breakdown of muscle tissue when dieting, and improve the absorption of amino acids critical for muscle tissue repair.

Second, the subjects of this study — nine overweight middle-aged men with slightly elevated cholesterol levels — consumedmore than 50% of their daily calorie intake from fat!They were hardly representative of the general population. And with only nine participants, it’s virtually impossible to generalize.

Nevertheless, these obvious design flaws did not stop one of the study’s three researchers from concluding, “The findings show that all saturated fats, with the exception of stearic acid — which is found in chocolate and beef — raise cholesterol levels.”2At the level of consumption for the oils tested — more than 10 times that of the average American!! — the amountsweren’tphysiological. They were given atpharmacologicaldose levels!

When MCTs are used in parenteral care, for those who have difficulty absorbing fats, or by infants as part of a formula, the amounts consumed are only about10% of total calories/day— about one-fifth the amount taken by the participants in this study.

The researchers’ conclusion also stands in stark contrast to a review inThe Lancet,which concluded thatmany saturated fats do not increase cholesterol levels;there are only three which do. These are lauric, myristic, and palmitic fatty acids.3